


A Friend To All

by Flamingbluepanda



Series: Cherry Pie (Cool Drink of Water, Such a Sweet Surprise) [1]
Category: The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Stripper/Exotic Dancer, Dirty Talk, Discussion of kinks, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Hand Jobs, M/M, Smut, Stripper Joe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:21:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28429944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flamingbluepanda/pseuds/Flamingbluepanda
Summary: Joe needs to tell Nicky something important about his job, and Nicky is going to break up with him for it, Joe is certain.(He doesn't)
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: Cherry Pie (Cool Drink of Water, Such a Sweet Surprise) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2082372
Comments: 20
Kudos: 269





	A Friend To All

**Author's Note:**

> As per usual, this fic is caused by the disproportionate amount of stripper nicky with NO stripper joe. my babies deserve equal opportunity aus babes. 
> 
> This is also my first fic for the all and more server! Huge thanks to Luna to me ramble all night and to turnip for the info!
> 
> Dedicated to Boss Bitch by doja cat, which kinda inspired this au.

It was on the fourth date that Joe finally said the dreaded words: “I have something that we need to talk about before this goes any further.” 

He watched Nicky go an odd grey shade, and immediately regretted his phrasing. “It’s nothing bad, I just… you might not like it. You might even want to break up with me for it, and that is completely okay.” 

“Are you,” Nicky looked terrified. “Is everything alright? Did I do something-“

“No!” Joe said quickly, waving his hands. “No no no, it’s not that, really. You’re-  _ wonderful,  _ you’re wonderful and this is wonderful and that’s why we need to talk about what I do for a living.”

When they’d met a month and a half ago at Booker’s, Joe had given Nicky the same  _ oh I work at a club _ line that he gave  _ all  _ strangers, because his job was controversial to say the least and he didn’t exactly need people flipping out on him or trying shit,  _ especially  _ intensely cute people who he fucked in the bathroom not two hours later. 

“You said you worked at a club?” Nicky said, just like every other person who Joe had had this conversation with, and Joe glanced down at his pad Thai, wishing he didn’t have to say this, that this date with Nicky would never end. 

It was a shame he was about to break up with him because this had been something  _ so  _ good.

“I do work at a club,” Joe said, looking Nicky directly in the eye. “A strip club. I’m a dancer there.”

“You mean-“

“Stripper,” Joe said flatly, just like always. “I'm a stripper.”

* * *

For this to really make sense, one should note that Nicolo Di Genova led an excessively dull life, mostly.

He’d grown up in Genova, joined the Catholic Church after school, and been offered a position at a parish in San Francisco, where he stayed for almost ten years before he left and opened a bakery. The wildest thing he did in his life was getting his CBD license and lace a few brownies for profit. 

He didn’t often go to clubs, which was why his visit to Booker’s three weeks ago was so out of character for him.

He hadn’t even planned on going. But Nile had insisted that she’d worked for him for six months, and he owed her a drink for manning his register that long, so he  _ had  _ gone out. 

Booker’s was an LGBTQ bar run by none other than Nicky’s good friend Sebastien. He was renowned around the Bay Area for serving strong drinks and playing a lot of European club music. Nicky had assumed he would go, down a glass of wine, and return home in time for the masked singer.

He hadn’t expected to lock eyes with a beautiful stranger across the bar. Nor had he expected those eyes with their thick eyeliner to rake up and down his khakis and button-down like the man attached wanted to eat him alive.

They’d hit it off immediately, chatting and laughing about California, exchanged a few recipes after finding out Nicky ran a bakery, and lamented how this bar had nothing on the clubs in Europe. Joe had asked if they could get some fresh air, and looked mildly surprised when Nicky denied the proffered cigarette.

“I’ve been to Italy, you people are nuts for these things,” Joe had said, lighting the one in his teeth. Nicky sighed, leaning against the bench they’d sat at. 

“I’m the family disappointment in that department. I smoked like a chimney right up until seminary and then when I left the priesthood the first thing I did was buy a pack. I was so excited, I took one puff and I almost collapsed.”

Joe hadn’t even commented on the seminary thing. He’d just  _ laughed,  _ beautiful and delighted. 

He’d walked away from that night with a phone number and hickeys, and if it was odd that Joe had demanded a condom before they fucked he hadn’t thought of it. 

Four dates later and Nicky was sitting at Joe’s sticky table in his tiny shoebox of a flat, eating Indian and… well.

“I have some questions,” Nicky said after a long silence, and Joe exhaled like he’d expected to be broken up with on the spot and was glad it hadn’t happened.

“Questions are good, encouraged even.” Joe waved his chopsticks about before taking another bite of noodles. “Ask away.” 

“Do you,” Nicky cleared his throat awkwardly. “What do you… I know that there are some… dancers… who just dance, and there are others who… go all the way.”

Joe nodded. “Some do. Some of the girls and one of the guys at my club do, for the right price.”

“And have you?” 

“Not in a few years, no,” Joe said. “I dance. I take my clothes off. I give lapdances and hand jobs and, up until a month and a half ago, was open to blowjobs so long as my client used a condom.”

“You get to choose? How far you go?” 

Joe gave him a deadpan look. “If I didn’t that would be rape, Nicky.”

“Of course!” Nicky said quickly, eyes widening at the idea that he fucked up so quickly. “Of course, I’m so sorry, I just- I never meant to imply that you-“

“Nicky,” Joe finally smiled a little. “Breathe. It’s okay.” 

“I’m sorry,” Nicky said again. “I don’t know why I’m so panicky.”

“I dropped a major bomb that I shouldn’t have waited so long to share,” Joe winced. “Sorry about that by the way.” 

“No,” Nicky shook his head. “I- this is going to sound weird, but I imagine it’s a bit like me with the priesthood thing. It’s not a first date revelation.”

“You must be a level five romantic partner to unlock my tragic backstory,” Joe joked, but it fell flat.

“Is it?” Nicky asked, “tragic, I mean?”

“Not even a little,” Joe sighed. “When I first came to America I was… well, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do outside of going to school. I started out as an art major chasing his passion, then I caved to my father’s demands and became a business major. Then I switched to a history major, then an  _ art  _ history major and, well, that was when my parents said that any further student loans I incurred would be on my own head.”

“That isn’t an unfair ultimatum,” Nicky said, and Joe nodded. 

“Oh for sure! I was in my third year and my fifth four-year program, they were completely valid to say that. So I got an apartment to save us room and board and I started working. I took odd jobs, nursing home gigs, warehouses. I started selling a few of my artworks but it… well… it wasn’t enough. The money ran out, and by that point, it was a point of guilt — I couldn’t ask for more money from my parents, not without crawling home tail between my legs.”

Joe sighed, leaning back in his chair. “And I could’ve, don’t get me wrong. I would’ve been welcomed home with open arms, The prodigal son with his loving family. But I’m as stubborn as a mule and twice as proud. I was 23 and determined to make something of myself. When someone told me I could get some quick money posing for a few naughty photos…”

“You jumped at the chance.” Nicky guessed. 

Joe nodded. “And I never looked back. Pictures between amateur, low budget videos, videos became making people feel good, and that became dancing.” 

“How did your parents react?” Nicky asked softly, and his heart ached when Joe’s entire face collapsed in on itself.

“Not well,” Joe said, picking at his pad Thai half-heartedly. “I kept in contact with my siblings but my parents only started talking to me again a few years ago. It’s not like it was before but we’re getting there, slowly. It’s hard.”

Nicky nodded. “It was very difficult to tell my father I’d left the priesthood because I was gay. It isn’t the same thing but…” 

“Mediterranean parents, what are you gonna do?” Joe teased, and Nicky snorted a laugh, glad they were back on familiar ground.

Joe gave him a once over so similar to the one Nicky got on that first day, and yet so different. This one was more tender, full of emotion Nicky didn’t yet recognize and wanted to.

“So what happens now?” Joe asked softly. “Like I said if you wanna lose my number…”

That emotion at least was clear in his eyes. Fear. Yusuf had  _ had  _ this talk with partners before, and it hadn’t gone well. Nicky could read it on his face. 

He reached across the table and gently squeezed Joe’s hand. “What do you want to happen?”

Joe’s laugh was wet with unshed tears as he squeezed his hand back. “This is the first time I’ve gotten this far with someone, honestly.”

Nicky smiled. “I’m glad you told me.”

“Me too.” Joe cleared his throat and dabbed at his eyes with a napkin. When he lowered his hands his expression was abruptly serious.

“I’m not going to stop,” Joe said seriously. “If you’re not freaking out because you assume you can save my soul or whatever the fuck, you can get out.”

“Has someone actually said that to you?” Nicky asked, and Joe snorted, looking irritated. 

“Unfortunately, yes. I have a habit of attracting hoity-toity assholes.”

“Hey, I’m very hoity-toity and I’m not an asshole,” Nicky said, and Joe smiled at him. 

Nicky took another bite of his food, chewed, swallowed. “So, safety-wise…”

“My boss offers to pay for tests a few times a year,” Joe said. “It’s been a while since I’ve had one, hence the insistence on condom use. The next round of offers is next month, so we can revisit the topic then.”

“I meant for you,” Nicky said, resting his chin on his hands. “Strip clubs aren’t the safest facilities in the world, and the bosses are usually…”

“Pretty bad,” Joe shrugged. “Keane isn’t terrible. He’s a little weird and protective, but he’d never hurt us. His commission on my tips is low, so I do pretty well. Security isn’t great but the tables have panic buttons for if a client tries to take things too far.” 

“You said your club has girls and boys?”

“Merrick’s gentleman’s club caters to all individuals, yes.” Joe rolled his eyes. “Now  _ the owner  _ is a pretentious dick, but he’s got a doctor friend who takes care of the girls while Keane takes care of scheduling.”

“But you go to a clinic for tests?”

“On my boss's dime. I don’t trust Meta Kozak as far as I can throw her.” Joe’s nose scrunched up and suddenly Nicky couldn’t last another minute without kissing him. He jumped up and practically sprinted around the table, sliding neatly into Joe’s lap and pressing a kiss right to that adorable nose. 

Joe giggled and god, Nicky was so gone on this man it wasn’t even funny.

He hummed at that thought, playing with Joe’s hair. “So the makeup and stuff, is that work or play?”

“Both,” Joe hummed, leaning into the touch. “Depending on the theme of the night or the client’s request I can go hypermasculine  _ or  _ hyperfeminine for work. At home? It’s nice to be androgynous and look pretty.”

“You are pretty,” Nicky said, pecking Joe on the lips quickly. Joe smiled at him. 

“When you say theme nights…?”

“Everyone has a kink,” Joe sighed. “Cowboys, aliens, leather. We cater to  _ everyone,  _ no matter how strange. I’ve worn a leather executioner's mask and a pink princess dress and someone jacked off while I danced to ska music, I’m not even kidding.”

_ “Everyone  _ has a kink?” Nicky asked, and Joe grinned at him. 

“Yep,” Joe said, popping the p at the end. “And I pride myself on knowing what it is after only a few interactions.” 

Heat pooled in Nicky’s gut, and his mouth was suddenly dry. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Joe spread his legs a little wider, and Nicky shifted in his lap a bit. “Go on, ask. You know you want to.”

“What am  _ I  _ into, Joe?” Nicky breathed, thickening his accent. Joe grinned and leaned in close, pressing his lips to Nicky’s cheek and dragging them to his ear.

“Dirty talk,” Joe breathed, then licked the shell. “You like to pretend you're all innocent when you’re not. When I saw you in that bar, in those fucking khakis,  _ wallahi  _ Nicolo-“

Nicky turned his head to kiss him, but Joe managed to deftly avoid him, smirking.

“You like to be in control,” Joe continued. “And it’s so  _ fun  _ to watch you lose control. God, baby, I can’t wait until I come back clean and you can put your dick in me. I haven’t stopped thinking about it for a  _ month.” _

“Yeah?” Nicky breathed, purposefully shifting his hips so his thigh brushed the bulge in Joe’s pants. “You daydream about my cock?”

“About putting my mouth on it,” Joe groaned. “You’d stretch me out so well. I’d suck you first, get you so fucking wet and  _ messy.  _ I’d let you pull my hair- don’t  _ look at me like that,  _ I see how you play with them, you know you wanna.”

Nicky sheepishly moved one of his hands from the curls at the base of Joe’s head, and Joe smirked triumphantly. 

“You’d get me nice and wet?” Nicky prompted, and Joe leaned in to kiss his Adam’s apple.

“You’d be filthy, Nicolo. You’d have to admit you were losing control, and once you’ve lost it,  _ Ohh-“ _

“Do I take it out on you?” Nicky hissed, digging his fingers into Joe’s shoulder. “Do I debase you? Ride out my most wild animal instincts with you?”

“Yes,” Joe whined. “Yes, yes,  _ fuck  _ Nicky  _ please  _ give me your hand.”

Nicky slid his hand down Joe’s front and undid the button on his pants, letting his free hand clench in Joe’s hair once again and drag him forward for a messy kiss.

Joe groaned into it, bucking his hips hard enough that the chair groaned underneath him. By some unspoken agreement, they both slid out of the chair and onto the floor, still kissing, never parting, as entwined as they always should be. 

Nicky finally got a hand around Joe’s dick, and Joe gasped loudly against his mouth. Nicky pulled away, eyes searching Joe’s.

“Does anyone else get to hear the pretty sounds you make, sweetheart?” Nicky asked. “Does anyone ever take care of you in that club of yours?”

“No,” Joe cried, writhing as he fucked into the tight circle of Nicky’s hand. The precum and sweat were making it slicker and slicker, and Nicky kissed the freckle on the tip of Joe’s nose.

It was his favorite freckle, he decided. And Joe had a lot.

“No one,” Joe whined, “no one but you. Nicky please,  _ please  _ let me come, baby,  _ please-“ _

Nicky groaned, ripping his hand away and shoving down his own pants so that he could grind against Joe, filthy and wet and as messy as Joe had tantalizingly offered.

Joe’s hands flew up to cling at his shoulders. His head threw back, and Nicky bent his head to bite up and down the long line of his throat. Joe cried out as Nicky’s teeth pressed into him, and he bucked his hips once, twice, three times before globs of cum were staining both of their shirts. 

Nicky groaned, reaching down to furiously stroke himself off. He wasn’t surprised at all by how turned on he was- Joe did that to him. Had done that for the last month and a half, and that wasn’t going to fucking change  _ now- _

Nicky grunted and let out a sharp gasp as he came across Joe’s stomach and pants before collapsing on top of him, sticky and sated. 

“If these jeans are permanently stained,” Joe said, a minute or an eternity later, “I’m going to steal your credit card and buy new ones.”

“That’s fair,” Nicky laughed, still winded. He lazily scanned the marks he’d left on Joe’s neck, and traced one with a finger. Joe shuddered away from him, and Nicky chuckled. 

“Sorry, I was just wondering - should I leave these? You won’t get in trouble, right?”

“Nah, I have makeup.” Joe shrugged, smiling. “I like ‘em.”

“Oh?” Nicky propped himself up on his elbow. “Is that one  _ your  _ kinks, oh wise one?”

“Definitely,” Joe grinned at him. “But in my line of work, it’s much quicker to list the things you don’t like.”

“A Jack of trades is a master of none.” Nicky raised an eyebrow. “So a Jack of kinks-”

Joe burst out laughing, leaning in to press his forehead to Nicky’s. 

“Thank you,” Joe whispered, “for being so understanding. It’s refreshing.”

“Of course.” Nicky kissed him again. “Thank you for telling me, I’m honored.” 

* * *

The next morning, Joe crawled out of bed before sunrise for fjar, just like every morning.

Only this time, he had to crawl away from Nicky. Who was a cuddler, because Nicky was perfect like that .

Nicky goes home later that morning, and Joe comes very close to asking him not to leave. He’s almost,  _ almost  _ afraid that Nicky won’t come back. 

Nicky texted him later, asking if Joe wants to go out for dinner that weekend, also Nicky forgot to ask about his work schedule and does Joe get food at work?

Joe was more than a little in love with him. It was good.

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is, as always, www.flamingbluepanda.tumblr.com
> 
> I love you! see you in 2021!


End file.
